Only 162 of the 523 – 31 per cent – buses ordered under the Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund were made in the country.
Newly built buses sit outside the Alexander Dennis factory in Camelon
Less than a third of buses funded by an SNP Government scheme were built in Scotland.
Only 162 of the 523 – 31 per cent – vehicles ordered under the Scottish Zero Emission Bus challenge fund were made in the country.
Some 361 were made outside of Scotland, with 287 – 55 per cent – made in China. This is higher than the 183 made in the whole of the UK.
Alexander Dennis, which is in the process of closing its factories in Falkirk and centralising down south, received orders for 153 buses (29 per cent).
Labour’s Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank said: “The SNP talks a lot about a green industrial revolution, but when it comes to backing Scottish jobs, their recent record tells a different story.
“We’ve got world-class engineers building zero-emission buses right here in Falkirk—but instead of supporting them, this government is sending public money and opportunity overseas.
“Nearly three-quarters of the buses in these schemes weren’t built in Scotland. That’s an insult to the workers at Alexander Dennis and to everyone fighting to keep heavy industry alive in our communities.”
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Bosses at Alexander Dennis launched a consultation last month on plans to shutter the plants at Camelon and Larbert and centralise production in Scarborough.
The move would end a century of bus building in the Falkirk district and comes just weeks after the oil refinery at nearby Grangemouth was shut down, with 400 jobs lost.
Stainbank continued: “This is about more than just numbers. Every bus built in Falkirk supports skilled manufacturing jobs, apprenticeships, and local supply chains.
“Alexander Dennis, one of the last remaining heavy manufacturers in the region, recently entered a consultation affecting 400 jobs. The firm has repeatedly warned of the risks posed by an uneven playing field in procurement policy, concerns that I have raised persistently in my role as Co-Chair of the British Buses APPG
“We cannot continue with ministers leaving Scottish taxpayers are footing the bill to support overseas industry, while those same taxpayers here are facing redundancy. It’s time for a serious shift in approach.”
Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney – who obtained the figures through a written question – said: “The numbers speak for themselves. Of the 523 electric buses funded through the Scottish Government subsidy scheme, more than two thirds, 340 buses, have been manufactured overseas, with 287 made in China by Yutong, while only 162 buses have been manufactured in Scotland by ADL and EVM.
“What is particularly concerning is that the Scottish Government does not even collect data on where the buses are manufactured. It is clear that the Scottish Government’s social value weighting in public procurement is not fit for purpose, and it needs to be bolstered to support critical manufacturers in Scotland rather than subsidising foreign competitors trying to put hundreds of skilled Scottish workers out of a job.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are exploring all viable options throughout the consultation period to allow the firm to retain their hard-working employees and manufacturing and production facilities at Falkirk and Larbert.
“Since 2020, ADL secured orders for more zero emission buses than any other single manufacturer through the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund and its predecessor the Scottish Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme.
“ADL has received £58 million of Scottish Government subsidy for vehicles under these programmes. ADL have secured orders for more than 360 vehicles through Scottish Government zero emission bus funding programmes, compared to the 160 currently on order from Manchester.”
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